Casita Taqueria - St. Petersburg, FL
Located in St. Petersburg, FL, Casita Taqueria is one of the places that’s always recommended when someone is asking “Where to get tacos in St. Pete”.
Oddly enough, Casita was one of the first places we “reviewed” back in the original launch of Tacothority. It was only a matter of time before we went back and gave it a proper review.
While looking for our next spot, we realized we were pretty close to one of Casita’s three locations, so we stopped by to dive deeper.
February 6, 2017 - Original Review of Casita
Based on Casita’s “Our Story” page on their website, it’s clear that the origins of Casita and Tacothority are closely aligned. Inspired by a love of food and travel, we both focused on tacos. Casita Taqueria used their passion to provide delicious, authentic tacos to the area, while my passion pushed me to share the world of tacos with others. (It might also be a bit of “those who can’t, teach”, because no way could I make delicious tacos myself!). When looking at the menu, it was a surprise to see they didn’t have pastor, but I’d assume that they care about authenticity enough to not have it without having a proper trompo, but I could be wrong.
Crunching the Numbers:
The Tacothority Scorecard
Our taco rating system runs from 0 to 10, where 5 is perfectly average, and 10 is pure taco nirvana. A 0 is the dreaded "Sad Taco"—so bad you’d prefer last week's leftovers. A 5 is a neutral, forgettable taco, while anything above that ranges from decent (6-7) to almost perfect (8-9). A 10 is the ultimate taco experience—flawless in every way.
Casita - Pollo Tinga, Carnitas, Carne Asada
The Three Amigos
Steak - 9.3
Spoiler alert: The carne asada taco at Casita was great. Juicy, tender chunks of meat, just the right size. Not too big forcing you to have to tear the meat in each bite, but big enough that they still maintained that juicy quality you hope to find. The tortilla also had a great texture and consistency. Casita also adds cotija cheese and a salsa roja for a very balanced bite.
Chicken - 8.9
The pollo tinga at Casita was filled with juicy shredded chicken. Compared to other tingas we’ve had, this was a little less sweet, a little more smoky, and we aren’t complaining. We enjoyed it’s smoky, tangy flavor, and how the cotija cheese helped balance everything. Each bite was as consistent as the first, leading to a great overall bite. It did have a big chunk of tomato which I could’ve been okay without, but it didn’t detract from the taco…and that’s coming from someone who doesn’t like tomatoes.
Carnitas 8.8
The carnitas was solid, plain and simple. One major fear that I always have with carnitas (or any pork for that matter) is that it will be dried out. This was not the case here as the carnitas at Casita was very juicy and moist, almost on the “too juicy” side if that exists, leaving a small pool of juices on the plate as we ate it. They also add queso fresco and a salsa verde, which once again offered a great balance. This salsa verde which I would assume was tomatillo based had a great savory flavor with a little bite of citrus, and very little spice. It was almost “refreshing”, and was definitely highly enjoyed.
Casita - Red Pepper Habanero Carne Chimichurri
The Wildcard
Going beyond the usual lineup, The Wildcard is the taco that stands out—whether it’s the restaurant’s go-to recommendation or just one that caught my eye. It’s the bonus option that brings something different to the plate.
Red Pepper Habanero Carne Chimichurri - 7.5
Casita has special tacos that change pretty often, and when we visited we were able to try their Red Pepper Habanero Carne Chimichurri. If you think that’s a mouthful, you should’ve tried the taco! Listening back to my initial thoughts, I described the chimichurri sauce as looking "like it could be appetizing and scary at the same time".
Not for the faint of heart, this special taco has a kick. It should’ve been a bit more expected based on the “habanero” in the name, but it truly caught me off guard, but in the right way. It had a great burn on the back end, but let’s just say my lips were tingling for a while.
The steak itself was great as expected, and it was also topped with oaxaca cheese and that blistering red pepper habanero chimichurri. If we were to change anything, we would’ve added more cheese to balance some of that spice.
Notable Mention
The Chips & Queso (And Salsa)
Short and sweet, the chips at Casita were good. Crispy, crunchy, with just the right amount of salt. They were thinner “cantina” style chips which we like to believe means less calories. The queso was also pretty good and very smooth and creamy, but we couldn’t get enough of the salsa. Super refreshing, the right texture, and a great flavor, we’d buy it if they bottled it!
Casita - Chips, Queso, Salsa
Final Thoughts
We were very pleased with Casita which comes of no surprise. It was better than we remembered. While this isn’t the original location, it still had the same “air” you’d feel in the other Casita locations…quirky, cool murals, fun vibe, and very friendly staff. The quality was great, the prices were reasonable, and their passion for great tacos shows with each choice. Their tortillas were perfect, the flavors were great, and we look forward to going and trying more of their options on a future visit.
They also have a Taco Tuesday with some great deals!
